Tigerclaw

Por2003,i know i don,t have to do it..please don,t get mad if i speak my opinion about something.Its like monkeygirl said..its a debate and lets keep it friendly..ok?One of the reasons why i don,t care much for it is because i would rather spend more time training for self defense then be using a watered down technique to goto some tournament to fight for points.

This is what pro2006 said it is different in a tournament because you are fighting someone with around the same general skills So basicaly your sayin that its ok to fight if they know martial arts to? Tournament fighting only exsist today so schools can make money off you...like the enrolment fees and test fees ain,t enough.I had a friend of mine who used to fight in competition,and he said one time during the fight he was in,the crowd sounded like a blood thirsty mob,yellin and encouraging the fighters to hit harder,knock his brains out,ect.My point is people that its wrong to fight,remember first rule of karate? Only use karate for self defense!

I would have to say that your extreamly lucky karatekid.Most Tae Kwon Do Dojang's are competiton based,and have no concept of self defense.Im glad you found a place thats gonna teach you what the art is truly about cause i have seen true Tae Kwon Do and i have alot of respect for the dedicated people who try to keep it strong.

Keep in mind that we as Martial Artist are not gods,we are just simple people who choose to train ourself both physicaly,spiritualy and mentaly.Keep in mind that if we were perfect,we would not need to train.(Grandmasters still train to...hopefully)

I totaly agree,politics have no place in the martial arts but like some have said,its just something we have to tolorate.Take there actions as a lesson learned of what NOT to do.

I wish to open a debate on tournament fighting and what it has done to the martial arts of today.I for one strongly feel that tournament fighting is wrong,and i feel like this because i was always taught that using the physical side of my art for anything other then self defense is wrong.I hope that i do not offend any of you because i know there are alot of people who love competition,but i was trained in a school where it is forbidden,and my instructor has explained his reasons to me many times why we do not compete and i have to agree with him.The martial arts was never ment to become a sport.

To me the Martial Arts is more then just learning how to fight,its a way of life,a way of thinking.IMHO when you begin to learn martial arts,don,t just except the physical,learn the mental and the spiritual as well,cause that is the only true way to reach the final levels of your training

The belt system is a good idea,but i agree with many on this forum who have said that instructors charging a arm and a leg for a Test fee is ridiculious.fortunatly for me,we only pay 30 dollars per test per kyu rank,and 50 dollars when we test for black belt.

Yeah,its a myth,nobody has to register for anything.

I agree that nobody should hold the rank of Black Belt till age 16.Fortunatly the kids that have to wait in our art don,t got to keep going over the same old stuff till they reach that age.My instuctor has master ranks in several diffrent martial arts,and teaches them some auxillary art like Aki-jujistu or Goju-ryu Karate which they can actually gain ranks in so if theu hit 1st brown like at age 12 or 13,by the time they hit 16,they can go for 2 black belts which is really kool.

i agree with chuck_girl..call 911,don,t try to jump into a conflict of 9 on 1 or 2 ect,thats an extreamly dangerous situation there,but if you feel that you can handle it,then so be it.(pulls out a AK-47 LOL j/k.

Yes,its better to train on a harder surface then a soft one.So stick with the hard bag to develop power and to toughen up your hands.

I agree with the others,try to find out if its point based or full contact cause theres a big diffrence in both.

Its good to condition yourself for the possibility that you may one day be attacked,but even though you might have abbs of steel,or a rock hard head,it ain,t gonna make a kick to your goin area or the temple feel any better.I suggest training so you don,t have to exchange with an attacker for 5 min straight till someone falls over from lack of exhaustion,or from being knocked out(knock them out quick or disable them fast).Proper breathing and stance transition is vital just in case you are hit so you don,t get the wind knocked out of you,or so your not knocked off balance when hit.if you train in the MA for sport,then you need to spar to get a feel for it,plus what i said above will help.If your like me and you train for self defense alone,then just work out hard,practise breathing and proper stance transition cause in a real fight,there are no pads to protect you.Also..learn how to dodge correctly so you don,t get hit to begin with cause the hand comming at you may have a knife in it or another weapon.

I think that in order to defend yourself on the street,you have to TRAIN in self defense rather then training for some up coming tournament or competition.For example,sparring in class is not making you a better fighter..sure it teaches you timing,footwork,and a few other things,but keep in mind you don,t wanna be trading licks with some guy weilding a knife,your gonna get cut up!.Training in real self defense ,you must keep in mind that you wanna end the confrontation quick,so training to hit vital points of the body like the throat,eye,kidneys,temple,groin ect are but a few examples.When sparring in class..these vital areas are off limits,and therefore how you train is how most will usally react in a REAL confrontation.Keep in mind that if you wann have effective skills for the streets,you gotta train with the mentality that if attacked,that your assaliant will probably try and kill you,so you must train with that in mind cause unlike a competition,your attacker ain,t gonna bow to you after your match up,hes probabaly gonna take your wallet,purse,vechicle,ect.Let me share a story with you guys and gals on a situation where i had to fight off a attacker.I was parked in front of a grocery store a few years back,and a guy walked up to me who looked like he had a chip on his sholder.He basicaly started running his mouth and i tied to settle the dispute by trying to talk my way out of the situation.At first i thought i had things under control and he walked away.well i turned to get into my car and the guy turned around and started charging me.I spun around and i delivered a side snap kick into his upper torso that stunned him,then delivered a right handed goju ryu hook punch to the guys temple that dazzed him severly.Seeing that he was very determined,i immediatly took that oppertunity to grapple him since he was stunned and grabbed him by his ponytail and used a one handed jujitsu thumb choke wrapping my fingers around the cartoroid arteries of the kneck(forgive my spelling)while sticking my thumb into the soft spot below the adams apple.Basicaly i choked him intill he was knocked out.Once he was no longer a threat,i got in my car and drove away.The point i wanna make is 2 of the techniques i used would be severly illegal in a sparring match or a competition,and in the school i work out in we don,t even spar(we use jiyu kata,embu and renzoku ken) as our main training tools for self defense.The martial arts has to be trained in with one key element in mind..it is and never was ment to be a sport..it is a way of life..train in it with that in mind,and it might even save your life.

In the art of Kiyojute Ryu(see the link below on my signature for information on the style) we have White belt,Yellow Belt,Green Belt,3rd Brown,2nd Brown,1st Brown then Black Belt.We test like every 6 months,but if you don,t have at least 50 hours between that 6 month period,you can,t test.once you hit 1st brown,you have to stay in first brown for a whole year and do a pretest showing our Soke all of our techniques from yellow to 1st brown before you can even take the real test displaying the black belt techniques.I think the time between belts is pretty fair,we only pay like 25 dollars to register our new rank,and once you hit black belt,it only cost 50 to register that rank so all in all,its pretty cool.

Its like i said in a recent post,i think all martial arts have something to offer the practioner if they are given good instruction.IMHO..i think there is no #1 martial art...due to the fact that all martial arts have there good and bad points.From what i have been taught..its best if you can learn from a instructor several diffrent martial arts,therefore making you well rounded.

Hello guys and gals,my name is Carl Ray Smither Jr,i was born here in Frankfort,Ky,and i am 28 years old.I have moved around my entire life at a earlie age.I have lived in Michigan,Florida,and of course Kentucky.my intrest in the Martial Arts started at a earlie age,and due to my temper,my mom got me enrolled in Tae Kwon Do in Palm Bay Florida.I studied there for a bit,but did not like the competitive nature of the art,so it did not last long.When i moved back to Kentucky at the age of 19,i had the honor of meeting Dr Wiiliam Durbin,and i have been training with him ever since.Dr William Durbin has not only taught me alot about the martial arts,but a great deal about life.Its an honor to be a part of this forum with fellow martial arts of all styles from around the world

Congragulations on earning your new rank in Shotokan Karate,keep up the good work

The dojo i train is has alot of there Black Belts stay due to the fact that our system is set up diffrently.As students we understand that as a Kyu rank..the techniques we are learning is building a strong base for the advance techniques in the Dan ranks.Its basicaly like alot of martial artist say,The Black Belt is just the beginning of your training..a black belt means you are a senior strudent in your Dojo,someone who has put alot of time and training into the art you are studying.So a word of advice to those of you that might think that once you reach black belt,its time to quit cause you think you know all there is to learn,or you wanna explore new arts,don,t cheat yourself..don,t be a jack of all trades..train hard,stay dedicated..and be a master:)

If some of you are looking for some great stretching exercises,i would strongly suggest some of Bill"Superfoot"Wallace's books on stretching and kicking.I was really honored when i had the honor of meeting Bill Wallace at our Dojo when he came down for a clinic,and he put us through some very effective stretching exercises.So with that in mind guys and gals..if you wanna get better at stretching..you might wanna look through some of his books or videos,and send me a reply telling me if it helped.Remember..the books or videos can show you what you need to do..its upto you to work hard on stretching if you really wanna improve.

In Kiyojute Ryu(The system i train in) we have our test in december,and june.If you have not accumilated 50 hours for a kyu rank,or 100 or more for a dan rank,you don,t test..its that simple.i think that the overnight training for a belt is a bunch of garbage.That nice piece of cloth around your waist does not mean a thing if you you do not have the knowledge and training behind it...its that simple..keep in mind to those of you that are in a Mcdojo,that your knowledge,time,and training makes you worthy to wear that belt..not a overnight session 50 bucks later and free pizza afterwards..this is just MHO.If some of you are involved in a Mcdojo..i strongly suggest finding a new dojo..it seems that all your instructor cares about is your money..not your as a individual and your training.I also think that handing out belts left and right is disrespecting the martial arts,and giving us as martial artist a bad name.The belt system in Kiyojute Ryu is White,Yellow,Green,3rd Brown,2nd Brown,1st Brown..then after 100 or more hours as a 1st brown,or a year..we have a pretest to demostrate to our Soke all of our techniques for each belt..then we have the major test showing him the Shodan techniques for the oppertunity to EARN our Black Belt..all in all i would say to become a Black Belt in Kiyojute Ryu..it takes about 3 and a half years IF you don,t fail any of your test and train hard.

I belive that pre arranged katas do not work,they are more of a dance then anything,and in no way do they help train the individual in self defense.The Jiyu Kata that we train in is compossed of imagining yourself being attacked,then through visualization,you defend yourself.The problem with sparring against other people,is you have to hold back on attacks,i mean your techniques have to be restrained in order not to hurt your opponets to severly,i mean are you gonna aim for the throat,or the eye in a sparring match..probably not..but through jiyu kata,you can visualize an attacker..or multiple attackers..and go all out in your technique.There are some who say..how can i be good at martial arts if i don,t spar..hit..and learn to get hit..well in all honesty..you never get used to taking strong shots..lets be honest here..getting hit hurts,in our training..you want to try and take your attacker out quickly..and as effective as possible,not trade licks..this is just MHO.

IMHO,i think it boils down to the individual,and what they are prepared to do to defend themselfs when the need arises.All martial arts when trained in correctly can be devastating when used correctly,and have much to offer when doing so.I do agree that good instruction is a big part of that development,but the instructor can only show you the skills necessary to defend yourself..its what you do with that knowledge that makes the diffrence.

If attacked by a street fighter,its basicaly fair to say to expect the unexpected.When training for self defense, that,s one of the key elements to keep in mind always whenever you are attacked(either by a MA or a street fighter) on a good note,most street fighters don,t know how to go with the flow like a trained martial artist,like if you executed a joint lock..performed a throw..most untrained individuals would probably resist your technique therefore causing even more injury to that person in the process.You must also keep in mind that a well trained martial artist knows how to hit,and where to hit to either disable a attacker..or even kill if it was life and death.